First autochthonous case of canine Angiostrongylus vasorum in Slovakia

Abstract

Angiostrongylus vasorum is a metastrongyloid nematode that may cause cardiopulmonary disease, neurological signs and coagulopathies in dogs. The parasite has an indirect life cycle with molluscs as intermediate hosts, in which the infective third larval stage develops. Recently, A. vasorum has been repeatedly reported in dogs outside the endemic areas, indicating that this parasite is widely distributed over Europe. This is the first record of an autochthonous infection in a dog from Slovakia that was casually diagnosed during routine preventive parasitological examination. A. vasorum first-stage larvae were recovered using the Baermann technique and identified by length and characteristic tail morphology. The animal originated from Slovakia and had not travelled abroad. The dog had been regularly walked on grass fields with a concentrated presence of common species of Gastropoda and frogs. The owner reported that the dog had been licking and eating grass and it had shown curiosity for molluscs and frogs. The first finding of A. vasorum-infected dog in Slovakia has confirmed that the parasite is spreading beyond the traditional hyperendemic foci, which accentuates the need for monitoring and increasing of disease awareness in primary care clinical practice.

Serological survey for canine angiostrongylosis in Slovakia

“…Regarding breed predisposition for angiostrongylosis, results from previous studies are inconclusive. Some authors did not report any contingency (Koch and Willesen, 2009;Staebler et al, 2005), while others suggest that the risk may be higher in purebred dogs or in the hunting dog breeds (Chapman et al, 2004;Conboy, 2004). Among the seropositive dogs detected within our study, 7 belonged to large breeds, 3 were small breeds and 3 individuals were of unascertained identity, confi rming the trend of no breed predisposition.…”

“…The serological survey on canine angiostrongylosis presented here was conducted one year after the fi rst fi ndings of Angiostrongylus vasorum in Slovakia confi rmed by larval isolation with Baermann's method (Hurníková et al, 2013;Miterpáková et al, 2014). Our results indicated relatively high overall seropositivity (6.22 %), with A. vasorum circulating antigens and/or specifi c antibodies against the parasite being diagnosed in 14 of the 225 dogs examined.…”

“…Among the seropositive dogs detected within our study, 7 belonged to large breeds, 3 were small breeds and 3 individuals were of unascertained identity, confi rming the trend of no breed predisposition. From a clinical point of view it can be very diffi cult to identify clinical signs unambiguously related to A. vasorum infection, since the clinical picture of this disease is very diverse and can evoke a variety of other cardiopulmonary, neurological or haematological disorders or further nonspecifi c signs (Koch and Willesen, 2009;Capogna et al, 2012). In fact, the owners of three serologically positive dogs reported signs such as apathy, anaemia, and marked loss of weight and appetite, which are nonspecifi c but quite common in dogs infected with A. vasorum (Koch and Willesen, 2009).…”

“…In more recent years its spread into new areas of Europe has been demonstrated. The fi rst two autochthonous cases of canine angiostrongylosis in Slovakia were observed in 2013 (Hurníková et al, 2013;Miterpáková et al, 2014), showing that this life-threatening parasitic disease of dogs has expanded into this territory too. Given that the parasite has also been diagnosed in dogs in the neighbouring countries Hungary (e.g.…”

First report of a fatal autochthonous canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in Belgium

“…In dog, distinct isolated endemic foci were reported during the last century in south-western France, Ireland, Switzerland, Southeast England and Wales, and Denmark. Canine angiostrongylosis is clearly emerging both in North America [6] and Europe [7] where it was recently further recorded in Greece [8], The Netherlands [9], different parts of Germany [10], Italy [11], Slovakia [12] Poland [13] and Hungary [14]. In temperate Western Europe climatic conditions are highly suitable to the completion of Angiostrongylus vasorum life cycle and Belgium is part of a vast area characterized by its high predicted suitability for parasite transmission [15].…”